


That's What Friends Are For

by prettypurpleflower



Category: Glee
Genre: Kurtofsky Gift Exchange 2015, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-22
Updated: 2015-02-22
Packaged: 2018-03-14 11:13:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,749
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3408467
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/prettypurpleflower/pseuds/prettypurpleflower
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Kurt swears to himself at the hospital that he'll be there for Dave from now on and it gets the ball rolling on a few things he never would have expected.</p>
            </blockquote>





	That's What Friends Are For

**Author's Note:**

> Written as a gift for albaharu

_Nothing goes as planned._

It’s all Kurt could think as he was staring at the window of the hospital room before him. Someone cleared their throat next to him. ‘Bad timing, he’s sleeping.’

Kurt almost rolled his eyes at Sebastian. Duh, he wasn’t blind. But somehow Kurt couldn’t bring himself to do even that.

‘Lady Hummel and the chipmunk. And I thought we had a secret schedule going here so I wouldn’t have to see your faces in here.’ Kurt and Sebastian both turned from the window.

‘Santana…’ Kurt started and immediately broke off again. There was nothing worth being said aloud right now, he decided. She took a few steps towards them, throwing a glance through the window as well. When she realized that nothing had changed, her mouth twitched in displeasure.

Suddenly Sebastian stretched out his arm, right past Kurt, and simply snatched the still steaming cup of coffee out of Santana’s hand.

‘Hey! That was mine, horse teeth!’ However, Sebastian ignored her.

‘His dad came by earlier.’

‘What did he say? Any news on his mother?’

‘Did you know that we’re the only people who’ve visited him? He said,  _I_ _’m so glad Dave has friends like you._ ’ Sebastian made a sound, something between a desperate laugh and an honest to god sob, and the fact that it was the first time ever Kurt witnessed a real human emotion coming from Sebastian made his insides twist uncomfortably.

‘Then maybe that’s what we should be from now on.’

‘What?’

‘His friends, dumbass. Clearly that’s what the lady was talking about.’

‘You know, if you want this to work, for Dave, then you have to stop calling me names. Stop calling me lady. Or gay face. Or whatever slur the flavor of the day is today. We can’t keep bullying each other like that.’

She looked as if she wanted to object, but something flashed in her eyes and all she answered was, ‘Okay.’

‘Why do we have to be nice to each other when we only want to be  _his_  friends?’

‘Because David doesn’t need  _any_  kind of negativity around him right now. It doesn’t matter if it’s directed at him or at the man in the moon. And because quite frankly, I don’t appreciate being called a girl. Or do you like it when I make fun of your teeth and your hair?’ Sebastian pressed his lips together and Kurt nodded in return.

‘Thought so.’

‘So, we’re really doing this?’  
‘What, do you need us to bump fists and yell some sort of battle cry to make it official?’

‘I’m not touching your hand, Smythe. That hand probably was literally below the belt like, half an hour ago.’

Sebastian shrugged, like he wasn’t able to really guarantee anything, which made Santana screw up her face in disgust.

Silently sighing, Kurt turned his attention back on the room behind the window. While he was asleep Dave looked peaceful, as if nothing had happened, and Kurt concentrated on the slow but steady rising and falling of his chest.

_We_ _’ll figure it out, David. For you._

~

‘What are you doing here?’ Dave asked as he settled on his desk chair, effectively leaving only the bed for his guests. They stayed standing awkwardly in the middle of the room instead.

‘Visiting you, of course.’

‘Are you sure you’re already allowed to leave the hospital because you seem awfully confused.’

‘Sebastian! Stop being insensitive,’ Kurt hissed, glaring at Sebastian and Sebastian was glaring right back. But a rough chuckle interrupted them.

‘It’s okay, Kurt.’ Kurt wanted to protest, to say it’s  _not_ okay. It was not his call to make, however.

The humor didn’t stay on Dave’s face for long.

‘You’ve seen me, I’ll tell my dad you were there, now you can leave again.’

‘We’re already here, we’re not going anywhere, Po Ping.’

‘I don’t need your pity. And I don’t need your pity visits. You’ve all apologized to me, no need to keep the guilt up.’

‘We’re not here because we still feel guilty. We actually have something for you.’

‘It’s a bit late, but you know how it is. I’m a busy man.’ Santana rolled her eyes.

‘Never do that again, Smythe. You’re terrible at it.’

‘Never do what again? I’m awesome at everything I do.’

‘Playing cool. And you’re definitely not.’

Kurt shook his head, done with their bickering.

‘As I was trying to say, we wanted to show you something.’

Promptly Sebastian pulled a small flash drive out of his pants pocket. Dave reached out, but recoiled when his fingertips touched Sebastian.

For once - and Kurt couldn’t be grateful enough for it - Sebastian stayed silent, patiently waiting until Dave had calmed enough to take the flash drive and put it into his computer with shaking hands.

Soon music started filling the room. For the moment at least it carried the awkwardness away. When the video version of Sebastian started speaking, the real Sebastian grimaced and Kurt almost smirked at him. Somehow it didn’t feel appropriate.

‘You dedicated your competition performances to me?’ Dave’s voice was thick with emotion.

Kurt nodded slightly. ‘It was actually Sebastian’s idea.’

It earned him an uncomfortable glare.

'Pssh, you weren't supposed to tell him that.'

'What, were you afraid it might make you look like a human being?'

Dave looked like he wanted to laugh, but there were still tears in his eyes he didn’t know how to deal with yet.

'Cool,' Dave said, but avoided looking at any of them.

'We know it doesn't erase the way we treated you in the past, but it's our way of showing we're serious about this.' Cautiously Kurt put a hand on Dave's shoulder. It was tense under his touch.

'By singing?'  
‘We’re part of glee club, we always sing.’

Santana cleared her throat.

'It's the only thing we know.'

Silence settled over them and Kurt wasn’t sure if it was exactly comfortable. He took a step back, his hand inevitably falling off Dave’s shoulder.

'That's everything. We can go now if you want us to.'

'No,' Dave rasped. 'Please stay.'

~

'I'm not sure this is such a good idea.'

'What, why?'

'Because it's awkward as fuck?'

'It's not awkward,' Kurt denied, shaking his head. Dave raised an eyebrow at him.

'Okay, yes, it is awkward. But it's not because of what you think.'

'It's not because you're all walking on eggshells around me?'

Sebastian scratched his head. ‘I’m more… walking on eggshells around  _them_. I still kind of want to insult Hummel whenever I see him. I don’t even mean it, it’s actually like a reflex. And she…’ Sebastian nodded towards Santana. He cautiously took a step back. ‘She’s scary, man. Her dresses are really tight, but I’m still trying to figure out if she can fit weapons under them somehow.’

'That's why you keep staring at my breasts? You think I'm hiding a pocketknife there?'

'Ugh, why else would I even look at those? They're like, gigantic, it's so weird.'

Santana flipped her hair back and laughed.

'You're so gay, Smythe.'

'So? You're just as gay.' Sebastian puffed his chest out defensively.

Kurt looked at Dave, biting his lip. With a tired smile Dave whispered, ‘This is going to be some weird-ass bonding ritual, isn’t it?’

Kurt half nodded, half shrugged. He wasn’t about to claim he knew what was going on in either Sebastian’s or Santana’s mind.

'Are we good now?' Kurt whispered back at Dave.

'Yeah,' Dave breathed out.

Kurt caught himself almost hugging him and promptly wondered where that had come from.

~

'Is it weird that I'm here without Santana and Sebastian?'

Dave shook his head. ‘Maybe a bit. But it’s cool.’

'You only think it's cool because I'm actually playing video games with you. You wouldn't like it if I was shopping clothes for you instead.'

'Hummel, you're totally beating my ass, that's not cool.'

Kurt blinked at him and actually took Dave a few seconds until he understood.

'What, just because we're both… because we're gay I can't use the word ass anymore? That's bullshit.'

Perhaps Kurt thought he was being subtle, but when he raised his hand to his face Dave immediately knew he was trying to hide his smile.

'No, it's more… boys usually don't talk to me like that.'

_They’re afraid they’ll catch the gay_  wasn’t spoken aloud, but it was hanging in the air, clear for both of them to see. Dave coughed.

'Well,  _dude_ ,’ he said demonstratively, ‘get used it.’

A part of Kurt was convinced he shouldn’t like it, he liked to consider himself more mature and cultured than the common boy his age. The bigger part of him, however, couldn’t deny that his heart was beating wildly and the muscles in his face were starting to hurt from his wide grin.

'So, why exactly are you winning this?'  
‘Because it’s a racing game and I’m good with cars?’

'It's video game cars, they don't work like real cars.'

'Of course they do. You need to be in the scene, need to feel the leather of the seats beneath your hands, need to smell the gases leaving the exhaust of your car and,' Kurt  paused and looked at him intently. 'Do you want to know what else you need?'

Kurt’s whole expression screamed that he was feeling all those things, seeing things Dave couldn’t see, and Dave found himself nodding anxiously.

'Luck,' Kurt smirked and the tension between them dissipated.

A small incredulous smile on his lips, Dave shook his head.

'Know what you can be? A douche.'

~

'I'm not letting you put anything on my face.'

'I watched… whatever sport that was with you, for hours.'

'You'd probably know which sport it was if you hadn't spent the whole time staring at the players' asses.'

Kurt decided not to comment on that. Fortunately Santana was on his side.

'Boys, boys. Fact is, Hummel totally knows his shit when it comes to facial masks. My skin is muy fantástico and it's like, ninety-eight percent perfect genes and two percent whatever Kurt likes to put on my face.'

Sebastian squinted his eyes at her, the corners of his mouth twitching. Next to him Dave wasn’t faring much better as he bit hard on his bottom lip to keep himself from laughing.

Kurt couldn’t take it anymore. He knew the first impression, often even the second, he made on people wasn’t the manliest and Kurt was okay with that. What he wasn’t okay with was when his own friends made fun of his interests.

He stepped in front of Dave and Sebastian, who were still trying to conceal their laughter, and looked with a piercing glare down at them.

'You,' Kurt nodded sharply at Sebastian, 'your skin is so greasy, if you rub your cheek over a pan, you can fry your next unhealthy meal in it. Newsflash, just because you have a high metabolism doesn't mean your skin approves of you living off of fast food only.'

Then Kurt turned towards Dave, deflating just the tiniest bit at the calmness radiating off of Dave. Unlike Sebastian, Dave wasn’t scared of him.

'And you, your skin is as dry as sandpaper, if you puzzle all those flakes of shed skin together you could build a model of your face. Really, showering twice a day is appreciated, but the cheap soap you're using is destroying your skin.'

'Why does he get off easier than me? He laughed, too!' Sebastian pouted.

'Because  _he_ was just egged on by you. And I’m done with your attitude. We’re supposed to be friends now.’

'Is my skin really that bad?'

'Pretty much. But if you start caring more for it now, it's fixable.'

'Will it make the itching stop?' Dave asked, rubbing his cheek hard. Kurt caught his hand.

'Yes. Now stop that, touching your face isn't good.'

As Dave got up from the couch Kurt’s hand slid away from his.

'Well, then come on, man. Show us what the fuss is about.'

It took an hour until they were all sitting in the living room again, they’re faces plastered with colorful mush.

'Is it really so bad now?'

'I feel like I can't move my face anymore.'

'Because it's drying up. It's supposed to do that.'

'That was your plan all along, wasn't it? You wanted to shut me up.' The more Sebastian talked, the more deepened the cracks in his clay mask.

'No, that's just a bonus. And David, stop trying to lick it off.'

'But it is edible, right?' Dave asked, pausing the movement his tongue had made around his lips. Santana frowned.

'You were there when he made it.'

'How am I supposed to know he didn't mix in some secret ingredient while I wasn't looking?'

'It's still just avocado, honey and yogurt. But if you really want to eat it, I'd say better make a fresh bowl.'

'You're all stupid. You all look stupid.'

'Sebastian! Be nice!'

'Can't. My nose itches,' Sebastian murmured sheepishly.

And for the first time in a long while, Dave laughed.

~

'Are you sure you want me to do that?'

'You keep asking that. Don't you want to do it?'

'Well, yes, but…'

'Then no but, go ahead. Worst case is I don't listen, right?' Dave grinned.

'Okay.' Reluctantly Kurt trained his eyes on Dave's computer screen. He started typing and opening new windows and tabs, sometimes his eyes drifted back to Dave. The analyzing gaze made Dave swallow nervously.

Finally Kurt beckoned him to come closer, so Dave got up from his bed, conveniently positioning himself to have a clear look at the screen over Kurt’s shoulder.

'What is that?'

'It's one of your possible new outfits.'

'No.'

'Why not?'

'It's not me at all. Have you ever seen me wear a scarf?'

'No, and that's why I have one for you here. Scarves are so underrated.'

'Just… no, Kurt. Next.' With a dramatic sigh Kurt clicked to the next picture.

'Don't I already look like that? It's a t-shirt and jeans.'

'Dear god, no. It's a blue t-shirt because I think that it really suits your complexion. And the jeans are a very dark blue and a completely different cut than those monstrosities you normally wear. And obviously we're talking here about sizes that actually fit you, not size 'far too big' that you're currently wearing.'

'Uh-huh.' Dave drew the word out and Kurt knew he hadn't sold it completely yet.

'Alternatively you could also wear the same jeans with  _this_ ,’ Kurt said proudly and clicked forward. It was exactly what he had been building up to.

'Oh,' Dave exclaimed quietly, approval in his voice.

'Here we've got a red and light blue checkered shirt with short sleeves. It's a bit of, you know, cowboy chic.'

Kurt waited until Dave’s enthusiasm subsided a bit.

'Enough your style?'

'Yes! I was a bit afraid that you'd go totally over the top, but it's super cool. I love cowboys. Do you really think I'd look good in that?'

Kurt chewed on his lower lip for a moment, then spoke quietly as if he was telling a secret.

'Have you seen your arms? Oh yes, you will.'

Dave could feel his face grow warm. He tried to think of something to say.

'And… what's the real reason for all the blue?'

Kurt looked at him with his big blue eyes and rubbed his nose innocently.

'I'd see you a lot in… my favorite color?'

~

The sounds coming from the TV should have been enough to distract him, but Dave’s eyes kept flickering back to the door. Neither Sebastian nor Santana seemed to have the same problem, as they were completely immersed in the video game. 

Then the door opened and Kurt came in, arms tightly crossed in front of his chest. He slumped down right next to Dave without even saying as much as a greeting. Dave didn’t know what to do. Kurt seemed upset somehow, his whole posture was tense and his eyes downcast. Slowly, as if on autopilot, he leaned against Dave, pressing his whole side against him. It didn’t help Dave’s confusion in the least. Carefully he put an arm around Kurt and whispered, ‘Hey.’

'Uh-oh, what will your boyfriend say about that, Kurtie?' Sebastian spoke up, but his tone was teasing. Dave could feel Kurt tense up again. His head snapped up, a hard glint in his eyes, and he hissed, ‘What boyfriend?’

All three of his friends look at him surprised, not sure they had heard him right. In the end it was Dave who dared to speak first.

'What happened?'

'He didn't like how much time I spent with you. Said you're a bad influence. So I… I broke up with him.'

'You chose Dave over him?' Sebastian asked perplexed. Kurt frowned at him.

'I chose my friendship with all three of you over him.'

'You chose being friends with  _me_  over your boyfriend? That is the nicest thing anyone has ever done for me. And I’m honestly feeling very disgusted,’ Sebastian said, his face puckered up as if he had bitten into a lemon.

Santana nodded her head furiously.

'Totally agree.'

Kurt gave them the tiniest smile, seeing through their antics without much effort. They turned back to the screen, pretending this just didn’t happened.

'Are you sure you're okay?' Dave whispered. Kurt nodded.

'It wasn't our only problem. I'm actually… I feel better now. I just need a moment to wrap my mind around it.'

Kurt closed his eyes and let the TV noises and Sebastian’s and Santana’s excited strategy discussions wash over him. In that moment Kurt truly understood for the first time why Santana kept calling Dave a bear. It was so much more than a gay stereotype. Dave was big and warm and as long as he was there, Kurt felt his worries seeping away.

~

'Guys, why are we always hanging out here. So not cool. We're young, we're gay, we're-,' Sebastian paused, throwing a meaningful glance at Kurt, 'we're all single.'

'And what does all of that add up to?'  
‘We should go out and party.’

Kurt didn’t even raise his head from its comfortable place on Dave’s thighs as he was listlessly flipping through a magazine.

'Sebastian, we're all underage. Even if they let  _us_ in, you are  _extremely_ underage.’

Dave chuckled deeply. He wrapped one of Kurt’s hair strands around his finger. It seemed funny to him. He had always thought Kurt would be more defensive about his hair, but as long as nobody brought his hair completely out of its form, he never even muttered about people touching it. At least he hadn’t yet when Dave had touched it. Dave decided it was probably different when people who weren’t Kurt’s friends did it.

Santana’s voice brought him out of his musings again.

'Let us deal with that problem. Seb and I will make sure that we'll get in and get all the alcohol we want.'

Dave shifted uncomfortably. Kurt frowned up at him at the unexpected movement.

'Guys, I…'

'What? Just spit it out.'

'I'm still taking these meds and I don't really think they should be mixed with alcohol? If I'm honest, I don't even want to be around alcohol right now.' Although his nerves made him comb his fingers through Kurt's hair faster, Kurt still didn't stop him.

'Okay, no bars.'  
‘Why? You can go without me.’

Sebastian rolled his eyes at him.

'Either it's all of us or no one. We're not going anywhere without you. We'll find something else to do. I'm not that much of an asshole.'

Kurt coughed, which sounded suspiciously like ‘anymore’. Santana and Dave laughed as Sebastian gave him the finger.

Kurt smirked and closed his eyes again.

'Friends, come on. I want to hear suggestions. What can we do?,' Sebastian whined.

'Nothing? It's Ohio,' Santana pointed out.

Subtly Kurt stretched his head more towards Dave’s hand. It made click in Dave’s head. Kurt wasn’t  _letting_ him do this, Kurt was  _enjoying_ it. Feeling rebellious, Dave tugged gently at Kurt’s hair but the reaction wasn’t the indignation he had expected.

Dave stared down at Kurt with wide eyes, trying hard not to blush.

Had Kurt just… purred?

~

Kurt giggled loudly.

'Pssst, Kurt. You're probably waking everyone in your house up.'

'Then stop being so funny!' he whispered into his phone, still grinning.

'It is four a.m. I feel like I lost control over my words like, two and a half hours ago.'

'What are we even talking about?'

'I don't know, you tell me.'

'Let's go back to the start. Why did you call me again? We saw each other earlier today! Uh, yesterday. Whatever.'

'Because I saw that ad about someone selling their piano and you've mentioned once that you want to replace your old one. Remember?'

Kurt’s eyes began drooping again, but he fought hard to keep them open. He didn’t want to hang up yet.

'Right. That was so cute of you.' He pressed the phone closer to his ear, as if it brought him closer to Dave.

'Really?'

'Yes. Remember my other friends? Like Rachel and Mercedes? They would've kept it to themselves. They're hogs. Hogging things I could use, too. You're not like that.'

Dave decided not to mention that he had no use whatsoever for a piano anyway.

'Glad you think so.'

'Does it bother you that Santana keeps calling you bear names?'

'Uh, not anymore. It's how I look and I think…’ Dave paused, remembering how Kurt had talked about his arms and how often Kurt hugged him for no reason these days.

‘I think that’s okay. And, I mean, she called me Bungle last week. I looked it up. It’s a bear from an ancient British TV show. I swear to you, she ran out of names ages ago and started googling them. It’s actually quite flattering that she’s trying so hard.’

Kurt could hear the smile in Dave’s voice and started smiling himself. It was nice that he knew exactly what expression Dave was wearing just by the sound of his voice. And when he closed his eyes, it was almost a bit like Dave was sitting right next to him, just like earlier.

'Dave?' Kurt murmured when he found it almost impossible to open his eyes again.

'Mhm?'

'We really need to sleep.'

'Yeah.'

'Talking to you is great, though.'

'You'll see me later.'

'Oh, right. Good night, feel hugged.'

'How's that work?'

The phone was starting to slip out of Kurt’s hand. It was a mystery to him how Dave was even still understanding his words.  
‘Just imagine I’m there hugging you.’  
‘Oh… good night, Kurt.’

And when they woke up again, they both found their phones still lying next to them and smiled sleepily at it.

~

'I mean, I really enjoyed the book and all, but did he have to choose it as required reading? You know how those idiots are-'

Kurt paused as he noticed his dad entering the room.

'Hey dad, your dinner is in the fridge. The chicken and vegetables with honey mustard sauce, not the other plate. That belongs to Finn and I have honestly no idea what he did there, but it's probably better not to touch it,' Kurt said, gesticulating wildly until he noticed that he was holding his fork with that hand.

Dave turned his head to look at Burt. ‘Hello, Mr. Hummel.’

He got a nod and a simple ‘David’ in return as Burt marched towards the fridge, got the plate out and put it into the microwave. Like a man on a mission of utmost importance.

'So, Dave, how are you? Did my son at least offer you some of that cake or is he just letting you watch? He does that with me.' Dave laughed, while Kurt squared his shoulders indignantly. It reminded Dave somewhat of a bird ruffling its feathers.

'He did, sir. But I already had some of that really awesome chicken.'

'Yeah, definitely didn't get the cooking skills from me,' Burt joked, but he looked so proud that the only thing Kurt could do was smile widely at him.

'I got the mechanical skills from you, though.'

'That you did.'

The microwave peeped and Burt carried his food out of the room, leaving Kurt and Dave to themselves.

'Why are you looking at me like that?'

'I just… expected you to react differently to seeing my dad? I don't even know why.'

'You told me he'd be okay with me here and I trust you, so… Okay, I was a tiny bit nervous, but mostly I trusted you. And when he's not pushing me around, he seems really cool.'

Kurt swallowed hard, not sure why that made him tingle inside.

'Well, where was I? Oh right. The guys in English class, they're so immature. How are they supposed to be able to interpret serious literature?' Kurt stuttered and ate another mouthful of cake.

There was a noise out in the hall, feet trampling down the stairs, but Kurt barley even looked up from his beloved cheesecake. The voices were still loud and clear through the closed door.

_'A costume party, like how much cooler can that guy get?'_

_‘We have to find the perfect costumes. Like perfect perfect.’_

_'Dude, comics. Everyone loves comics.'_

Kurt raised an eyebrow. That was new to him and his comic-free bookshelf. Lips parted slightly, Dave listened in eager anticipation what Finn and Sam would come up with.

_'Woah, I know. One of us should do Grodd.'_

Suddenly Dave’s eyes widened in panic, flickering between the door and Kurt.

_'That'd be like, epic, man.'_

Intrigued, Kurt threw a questioning glance at Dave.

_'But where would we get the costume of a giant gorilla?'_

_'Sucks.'_ Then the front door slammed shut.

Dave groaned in frustration. Did they really have to spell it out?

Kurt smirked at him.

'Don't you want to tell them you know where to get a fantastic gorilla costume?'

'I'm so sorry, Kurt,' Dave mumbled, a mess of words because he was hiding his blushing face behind his hands.

'Why? It was one of the cutest things anyone has ever done for me.'

'Because I knew you weren't available. I don't even know what I was thinking.'

The front door opened and closed again. Dave pulled his head back in confusion. Kurt shrugged. ‘Carole came home.’

'Man, there is a lot going on in your house.' Kurt bit his lower lip, torn between steering the conversation back towards the last topic and worrying about the current one.

'Does it make you uncomfortable?'

'Actually… no. It's just different. I'm friends with you, Santana and Sebastian. That's already a lot of action, you'd know if I were uncomfortable.'

'I guess so. We can be a bit… difficult.'

'I would have chosen the word  _explosive,_ but yeah, pretty much,’ Dave retorted and shared a grin with Kurt. They both knew that he was right.

With a happy sigh Kurt scraped the last creamy remnants from his plate.

'I really should get going.'

Making a sad face, Kurt got up.

'Leaving me already?'

'I'm afraid so.'

To Dave’s surprise Kurt didn’t say goodbye at the door but followed him outside.

By now it was dark and only the lamp on the front porch bathed them in a soft light. A light under which Kurt seemed to be glowing.

Dave couldn’t believe how close Kurt was standing before him. Tentatively Kurt laid one hand on his chest and raised himself up on his toes.

'Dave?'

'Yeah?' Dave croaked, fighting against his imagination running wild.

'I lied. What you did on Valentine's Day? It was  _the_ cutest thing anyone has ever done for me,’ Kurt whispered, his breath hot on Dave’s ear. It wasn’t cold outside, but Dave could still feel his skin starting to prickle.

Then Kurt leaned back a bit, locking eyes with Dave. Quickly he pressed a soft kiss on Dave’s cheek and took a step back.

'Text me when you're home.'

Dave opened his mouth. Nothing came out, any possible words stuck in his throat. He nodded. Kurt turned around and with a skip in his step went inside. His heart was pounding. It was clear that for his own sanity he should just head to his room, but Kurt couldn’t help staring through the peephole at Dave. Still standing there with a mix of shock and awe on his face. He lifted his hand to his cheek and Kurt imagined it to be a cool relief against the warm skin his lips had touched.

When Dave finally got into his car and drove away, Kurt let his head bang against the door.

~

'I have to say, Kurt, you did upgrade.'

'Upgrade what?' He did find a tiny bit funny that his first thought went to his car. Even if he had upgraded it, Sebastian wouldn’t notice in a hundred years.

'From your last to your new boyfriend.'

'Wha- what are you talking about?'

'You're making eyes at each other, all the touching… You  _blushed_ earlier when Dave smiled at you. Dish out the dirt, what happened? I can  _smell_ something happen, don’t try to deny it.’

'Sebastian Smythe, you are a gossip.'

'Yeah, yeah, whatever. Now tell me.'

'Nothing happened. We spent some time together yesterday, something reminded us of Valentine's Day.'

'And,' Sebastian drawled, his eyes wide with curiosity. Kurt smiled slightly.

'I told him what he did for me back then was the sweetest thing anyone has ever done for me. And I kissed his cheek.'

Frustrated, Sebastian groaned. ‘Lame, Hummel. Why didn’t you kiss him for real?’

'First a gossip, now a matchmaker. And they say I'm a stereotype.'

With a grin Sebastian wriggled his eyebrows.

'I just care about my friends. Their well-being, their happiness…'

'Their sex-life.'

'Yeah, basically.' They both started laughing.

'I thought about it, you know?'

'About what?'

'Really kissing him. I almost did.'

'Why didn't you?'

'I thought it's too much. Or too fast. I don't know.'

'Kurt, he's been into you for ages. He's gone through some heavy shit, but I think he's doing pretty okay. As okay as possible right now anyway. There's literally no reason for you to not at least try.'

'I guess I should stop doing things almost.'

The door opened and Dave and Santana entered the kitchen, stopping abruptly when the atmosphere hit them.

'What's with the serious attitude?'

'Nothing. Just questioning Kurt's life choices.'

'So, nothing new then.'

'Just like I said,' Sebastian nodded innocently.

He locked eyes with Santana and Kurt knew, he just  _knew,_ that those two were having a secret fishy conversation right before his eyes.

'Gentlemen, it was a pleasure seeing you today, but I have to be on my way.' Kurt almost snorted at Sebastian's awfully acted attitude.

'Am I part of 'gentlemen' now?' Santana asked brusquely.

'No, obviously not because you're coming with me.'

'Am I?'

'Yep. Alternative is you walk home.'

'Convinced.'

'Well then, chop-chop.'

Before either of them could react Sebastian pressed a quick kiss on Dave’s and Kurt’s cheeks.

'What was  _that_?’

'I thought that's a thing now? Isn't that what  _friends_ do?’ Sebastian smirked at them and dragged a self-satisfied Santana behind him out the front door.

'You told him about yesterday, I guess?' Dave asked, his voice even.

'Yeah. And for about five amazing minutes he wasn't an asshole about it.' Dave snorted out a laugh.

'He is still Sebastian.' Kurt nodded slowly, hesitating to speak again. Whatever, he had to say it now.

'I wanted to kiss you yesterday.'

'Seriously?'

'Yeah. I like you, David. I can't even explain all the things I feel when you smile at me or when you put your arm around my shoulders or when you… even when you call me dude. And when Valentine's Day came up, the only thing I could think about was how much I want to kiss you.'

Dave looked exactly like he had the day before after Kurt had simply kissed his cheek, only seemed his feelings so much more intense now. As if he had landed in paradise and couldn’t process it.

And for once Kurt didn’t want to content himself with almost. Almost getting a solo, almost trying hard enough, almost kissing Dave. Almost letting himself hope.

So Kurt closed the distance between them and gently put his lips on Dave’s. A second, two, and then Dave was kissing him back, really kissing him and suddenly his hand was beneath Dave’s shirt and Dave had his own hand buried in Kurt’s hair.

Eventually they broke apart, both of their heads spinning.

Kurt was gasping. He didn’t remember kissing to be so… intoxicating. He desperately grasped for words.

'I didn't want to do this now. I feel like Sebastian pushed us to do this. That idiot is going to be so smug,' Kurt said, not even sure why that was the first thing coming out of his mouth because his mind was empty. It didn't even matter because he already felt himself gravitating towards Dave again.

'Kurt, for everything that's holy, stop speaking about Sebastian while there's still my spit on your lips and your hands are beneath my shirt.'

'I know a great way to shut me up.'

'Is that so?'

‘ _Kiss me._ ’

~

'I'm so glad we finally found something we could do outside of anyone's home,' Santana said, spreading her arms wide as if the air of the amusement park was fresher than any air she had ever breathed.

'We have done things. We went to the movies. And we got ice cream once.'

'I was talking about fun stuff, not loser activities.'

Sebastian grinned.

'Oh, Tana. You're only saying that because you started crying during the movie and didn't stop until I held your hand.'

'Smythe! You swore you wouldn't ever tell anyone!'

Kurt tilted his head to one side, surprised at her outrage.

'Do you really think we didn't notice?'

'How could you? You were full on smooching Paddington.'

Dave considered her words. He nodded once, his lips pursed.

'Hm, not your best one. I'm not really small and cute. Or British. Wait, he isn't really British, is he?'

'Who cares, you are totally cute,' Kurt beamed at Dave and squeezed Dave’s hand in his.

'Can you two start the make out party later? We haven't even tried out a single ride yet,' Sebastian interrupted them with a clap of his hands.

'What's the plan?'

'I suggest we do the crazy ones first in case anyone gets hungry early.'

'After that we can do the fun ones, like the bumper cars and the haunted house.'

'Sounds like a plan.'

They found the rollercoaster first. It was high and fast and messed their hair completely up. Kurt found himself oddly okay with that, even when Santana insisted that they’d have to take a photo  _right now, just like this._

A few fun but rather average rides later they stopped again.

'I want to do  _that_ ,’ Sebastian exclaimed at the sight of a huge drop tower and by the expression on Santana’s face, she wasn’t about to say no. They practically ran towards the ticket booth. Laughing fondly, Kurt shook his head. Just as he wanted to follow them, Dave held him back.

'I'm going to sit that one out. Get some coke instead.'

'Why? Are you okay?'  
‘Yeah, just… not so eager for the feeling of falling. Always thought it’s weird when you stand in elevators as well.’ Dave shrugged.

Kurt gasped. He wrapped his arms around Dave and stretched up a bit so that he was at eye level with his boyfriend.

'Big, bad Karofsky has an elevator phobia?' Kurt teased.

'Can't be perfect, babe.'

'Do you want me to stay here with you?'

Worry was written all over Kurt’s face now and Dave couldn’t help but smile at it.

'No way, Kurt! I know you want to do it and I swear if we turn into the sort of couple that always has to be stuck together at the hip…' Kurt threw his head back and laughed.

'Okay,' he answered eventually, a sparkle to his eyes that hadn't been there before.

'So, I'll get drinks in the meantime. I'll get you something sweet, see if they have some lemonade.

'Perfect.' Kurt placed a soft kiss on Dave's lips.

'Go! They sort of look like they'll start  _climbing_ that tower any second.’

Fortunately it was the only less than stellar moment of the day.

Dave joined his friends again at the bumper cars, where he immediately claimed Santana as a partner.

'What? You're leaving me?' Kurt huffed.

'Kurt,  _treasure_ , you’ve got my heart, but this girl here is  _vicious_. I’m not going to get into a car opposite her. She’d rip me apart.’

'I can't believe you. I'm going to destroy you.' Kurt glared at his boyfriend playfully and grabbed Sebastian's arm.

'Come on, Seb, we're going to show them  _vicious._ ' Sebastian smirked, hurrying to keep up with Kurt's fast steps.

'I don't know where you hid that Kurt, but I really like him.'

Later, when the sun was starting to set, they decided to get some food and settle down on a park bench.

Kurt leaned his head against Dave, who had his arm wrapped around him. They had as good as lost count of all the things they had done and almost felt a bit dizzy still. Lazily Kurt picked at his cotton candy. The others had laughed when he had argued that cotton candy was food, but Kurt didn’t care. Cotton candy was an amazing invention.

'I'm really glad we're all here together.'

'The romantic atmosphere is getting to you, isn't it?' Santana grinned. Pointedly Kurt rolled his at her.

'Actually, I'm with Kurt. It… it's cool. It’s even cool that we're friends. Before this I spent all my time at Scandals. Seems kinda lame now in comparison.'

'Hell, okay, I'm contributing to the moment. I like that you're my friends because… I'm good with you guys and I always know you're not secretly trying to feel me up,' Santana rushed through the sentence without taking a breath.

As if to prove a point, Sebastian took her hand. She slid closer towards him.

It was almost fascinating to watch for Kurt. Such an strange pair of people. They were always so sexual, ready to make a dirty joke or flirt with a random stranger. But in the end they found the most comfort with someone they would never be attracted to in that way. Maybe that was exactly why it made so much sense.

Dave nudged him, urging him to speak up.

'Well, the reason I like being friends with you is that you treat me like a guy. Sometimes you still joke a bit about it when I force you to do facial masks with me or when I judge your clothes, but you never make me feel like I'm not equal to you anymore. You just treat me like you treat each other.'

'I hope they don't treat you like I do,' Dave growled in jest.

Kurt grinned and shook his head, burying his face in Dave’s neck. He didn’t know what it was about Dave, but he made Kurt completely melt inside. When Dave began speaking, Kurt lifted his head again.

'I can't even tell you… what it means to me that you bugged me until I accepted your friendship. When I woke up, I didn't want to see anyone, but you didn't  _stop_ coming to see me and that was when I first thought maybe I don’t have to try again. For the first time I can be myself and I can be honest about  _everything_. It’s… it’s huge,’ Dave said, his voice shaking. He tightened his hold around Kurt.

'We know,' Kurt breathed with a soft smile.

He looked at Santana and Sebastian, who had started to play more with their fries than eat them.

Dave nudged him again, so Kurt turned his head again, only to be met by Dave’s lips gently touching his.

They were all more cobbled together than fitting seamlessly, but it didn’t matter to any of them.

Back that day in the hospital they had sworn to try, but this had not been their plan.

And that’s when Kurt knew.

_Some things are better not planned at all._


End file.
